


Choices

by mneiai



Series: Valg Drabbles [3]
Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Alternate Ending, M/M, Valg Lore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:26:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24365770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mneiai/pseuds/mneiai
Summary: They win some battles, but lose the war.
Relationships: Erawan/Dorian Havillard
Series: Valg Drabbles [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1529120
Comments: 1
Kudos: 31





	Choices

They'd failed.

He still didn't know how, when it had suddenly seemed as if everything was going right. Dorian had been too caught up in their plans against Erawan and then...and then it hadn't even mattered. They'd never gotten the chance.

Worse was that he was alive, as were so many of the others. The scar around his neck seemed stiffer, seemed to hurt again whenever he considered their fate.

Dorian had expected a cell, or even just to be chained up in the mud and left there, that he was given a room fit for a noble and regular, decent food, albeit with iron cuffs on his wrists and ankles, made his anxiety worse. Was this for the next Valg prince to occupy his body? 

He was dragged to Erawan on the fifth day of his confinement, unsure if the guards were being gentle with him (and they were, technically, wearing a version of Adarlan'd crest so may have even served his father) or if it was simply because he was cooperating. There was no sense in wasting his energy fighting them, he'd need it all to resist the Valg put inside of him.

Erawan lounged in Terrasen's throne, looking every inch a king. He watched silently as Dorian was brought to a stop in front of him and motioned the guards away after they pushed Dorian to his knees.

"You seem...diminished." Dorian scoffed at the words, hiding his confusion over the topic. "What _did_ you and that Fae creature do to destroy the keys?"

Seeing no reason to hide the information, now that the deed was done, he replied, "Our ancestor made a deal with the goddesses of this world, that they'd help us forge the lock. But...."

"But it took most of your magic to do it," Erawan finished, as if the events were now obvious to him.

He stood, ever graceful, and approached. Once he was right in front of Dorian he caught his chin and lifted his head, leaning in, studying his eyes. "Your magic was hiding you, but now I see."

"What?"

Erawan chuckled, pulling away. "You'll know in time. We'll have so much of it, trapped in this useless world until enough death-maidens can be found."

Healers, he remembered Erawan's explanation at the end of the fight, while he and Yrene confronted him.

If they'd had just a few minutes more....

But they hadn't, something below, something with Aelin, had failed and as Dorian held Erawan in place and Yrene tried to destroy him, the tower collapsed around them.

Erawan saved them both. Dorian knew that wasn't a good thing.

His eyes looked around, nervous, searching out the familiar circle of black stone. He'd worn one in nearly every nightmare he'd had, thought he'd be able to recognize it anywhere. 

"How long are you going to play with me?"

Erawan's eyebrows rose. "Why, Dorian, I don't think you could even comprehend how long I'd like to keep you."

He felt sick. "And when do you shove another collar on me?"

That made Erawan frown. For a beat, he was still, quiet, and then he drew the formal dagger at his waist and Dorian flinched, confused and worried.

Erawan took one of Dorian's arms in his hand, so, so gently. When the blade pressed against his flesh, Dorian was still so unsure of what was happening he didn't even attempt to squirm away.

The cut was shallow, just enough to draw blood.

He watched in horror as it welled, slowly gathering, dripping down his arm. Black dots marring the floor below.

"No." 

"We commit many travesties against each other."

"No."

"But we keep enslavement to lesser races, no matter what Maeve may suggest."

" _No_."

An illusion. A trick. It had to be.

 _Your magic was hiding you,_ Erawan had said. But he had to be lying.

Dorian's magic was barely a trickle of what it had been. And now it was completely suppressed with iron.

But this couldn't be the truth. He felt like he was falling apart, his mind the glass palace shattering underneath him.

When he could think again, could comprehend the world beyond his pitch black blood, he realized he was on the ground, head resting in Erawan's lap, the Valg King's hands stroking through his hair.

"Why?" he groaned. "Why tell me? Why care?"

"Once we break open the lock, you'll be fully yourself again," Erawan murmured. "Powerful enough to be my match. And I've been too long alone...I crave a Queen by my side."

"...What?"

"Maeve is my brother's wife. Your dear Manon has proven less than I hoped her to be. But you...you're still young enough, still unaware enough, that you haven't chosen how your soul will settle." Erawan leaned over him to meet his eyes, gold glinting victoriously. "And I have a dungeon full of reasons you'll make yourself exactly what I want you to be."

**Author's Note:**

> Lol so idk one of the things I absolutely hate about Throne of Glass is how like cishet gender roles are so obsessed over by Maas. Whhhyyy would parasitic demons from another dimension with dark magic have the exact same two cis genders and nothing else and basically have human gender roles? It's bad enough the Fae we're all caught up in weird human masculinity bullshit.
> 
> So, anyway, my pet headcanon is that the Valg choose their "gender" in their youth, knowing there's some trade-offs (for example, supposedly female Valg are more powerful, but Maeve seemed to be below her husband in their hierarchy). It's why female Valg seem rarer and Valg who are of lesser power than princess would never choose it because the trade-off is worth less to them, which is why we never see/hear about lesser ranked female Valg.
> 
> Erawan was interested in Manon as the closest equivalent to a Valg Queen around, but his realization that Dorian is a young Valg "monarch" has given him another option.


End file.
